Spring catches



June 21, 1960 G. BORSANI SPRING CATCHES Filed Dec. 5, 1957 n m e w G/A/VCARLO BOASAN/ W B mg; y 17% A i 9%. Q Attorney iinited The present invention relates to a spring catch suitable in particular for doors of furniture or the like and which, apart from being latched, as is customary, by pushing the door provided therewith into the closed position, has the special feature of being then openable simply by a further pressure exerted in the same direction on the said door.

According to the present invention there is provided an improved spring catch for holding a door in a closed position, comprising a main structure adapted to be fixed to the door and a seat element adapted to'be fixed adjacent to the aperture required to be closed by the door, wherein the main structure includes a latch swingably mounted in a frame adapted to be fixed to the door so that it may project from the frame or be retracted towards the frame against the loading action of a spring included in the main structure, and further includes retaining means to retain the latch in a normal retracted position in engagement with the seat element, the said retaining means being actuated by the swinging of the latch into its normal retracted position and adapted to be disengaged from the latch by a small displacement of the latch towards the frame from the said normal retracted position, the latch then moving under the influence of the spring loading into a projected position.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the catch in perspective view in the unlocked position and fitted to the door of a piece of fumiture;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the assembly of the internal members of the catch, from which part of the casing has been removed;

Figs. 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d show diagrammatically the various characteristic stages of operation of the mechanism of the catch.

In the casing 1 of the latch, which casing is fixed to the door 2 which can be opened in the direction of the arrow F, there is pivotally mounted on the pin 3 the swing latch 4 of U-shaped cross-section, which is provided at its free end (the lower end as shown in Figs. 1 and 2) with a roller 5 and is subjected to the action of a spring 6 tending to hold it in the position of maximum projection from the casing 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This position is the one in which the catch is open, while looking of the catch is obtained when with the latch 4 retracted into the casing 1, the roller 5 is located in the seat 7 of the stirrup piece 8 fixed to the piece of furniture 9. In order to maintain the latch 4 in this locked position, a plate 14 provided at one of its ends with a hook 15 adapted to engage with the latch 4 and subjected to the action of a spring 16 stretched between a projection 17 of the plate and an arm 18 of the latch 4, is mounted by means of a lower slot 12 and an upper L-shaped slot 13 therein on transverse guide pins and 11 respectively carried by the casing 1 so as to be movable longitudinally and transversely in its plane. The latch 4 is provided at its lower end with a lateral cam projection 19 for entates atent G ice gagement with the hook 15. The plate 14 is, moreover, capable of performing a movement of deflection from its normal plane which enables it to assume the position v The door 2 will be assumed to be moved away from the piece of furniture 9 (Fig. 1). At this stage, the plate 14 (Fig. 3a) is fully lowered and the notch in the slot 13 is engaged by the pin 11. When the said door is brought up to the piece of furniture, the latch 4 is caused to pass' from the projecting position (Fig. 3a) into the retracted" position shown in Fig. 3b, due to the pressure exerted on the roller 5 by the wall 7' of the seat 7 of the stirrup piece 8, the door being moved in the direction opposite to that shown by the arrow in Fig. 1. As the latch 4 is retracted owing to the eifect of the push on the door 2, the shoulder of the projection 19 (Fig. 2) presses against the plate 14, at the height of the hook 15, and deflects it from its normal plane, that is to say moves it away from the distance piece 22, until it assumes the position 14' (Fig. 2). When the latch 4 is completely inserted (Fig. 3b) the projection 19 will have gone beyond the plate 14 which, owing to the action of the spring 16, is returned against the distance piece 22 (Fig. 2). When the push on the door 2 ceases (Fig. 3c), the spring 6, which is under load when the latch is in the retracted position, acts on the latch 4 in the direction of the arrow P, causing an imperceptible backward movement of the door, as a result of which the projection 19, which is engaged with the hook 15, causes the plate 14 to perform a very small rotation in a clockwise direction (as viewed in the drawings). The notch in the slot '13 is thus disengaged from the pin 11 and the catch remains locked.

To effect unlocking of the door, it is suflicient to exert a slight pressure from the outside on the door 2 in the closing direction. The roller 5 (Fig. 3d), pressed more strongly against the wall 7 of the seat, then causes the latch 4 to perform a very small rotation which disengages the projection 19 from the hook 15 of the plate 14, which is drawn upwards by the spring 16, while the latch 4, released in this way, is caused by the action of the spring 6, to rotate strongly in the direction of the arrow P, thus effecting, owing to the reaction against the wall 7 the opening of the door 2 in the direction of the arrow F (Fig. 1).

During this movement, the arm 18 (Fig. 3a) of the latch 4 causes the notch in the slot 13 of the plate 14 to engage with the pin 11 after having caused the plate to drop for the entire length of the slots and having caused it to perform a very small rotation in an anti-clockwise direction on the pin 10. The assembly is thus returned to the initial position, ready to be closed again.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment of the catch device which has been described above and illustrated solely by way of example, but embraces all modifications of constructional details which may be made in the said device without departing from the inventive concept.

What I claim is:

1. A catch for releasably holding a movable member to a fixed member comprising a casing carried by the movable member, a keeper carried by the fixed member, a swing latch pivotally mounted in said casing and having a free end engageable with the keeper as the movable member is moved towards the fixed member, a spring, means operatively connecting said spring with said latch for straining thereof as said latch is pivoted upon engagement with said keeper, retaining means in said casing engageable with said latch upon pivotal movement thereof when the free end thereof engages said keeper, and means responsive to a force exerted on said movable member urging said movable member toward said fixed, member for disengaging said retaining means from said latch, whereby said strained spring will, exert a. force through said latch on said keeper to urge said movable member away from said fixed member.

2. A catch as in claim 1, wherein said retaining means comprises a plate, means mounting said plate for move ment in its plane and for movement, transversely of the plane thereof, said latch having laterally extending projection means engageable with said plate for moving said plate laterally as said latch is pivoted uponengagement of the free end thereof with said keeper, resilient means for restoring said plate to its original plane after said transverse movement, and hook means on said plate for engaging said projection.

3. A catch as in claim 2, said resilient means also urging said plate in its plane for movement away from said projection, the mounting means for said plate comprises a pair of slots in said plate and pins carried by said casing and extending through said slots, one of said slots being straight and the other being in the shape of an L, with one leg of the L-shaped slot in alignment with said other slot, the pin extending through said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,490,060 Jacobson Dec. 6, 1949 

